Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $169.15.

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $151.92 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.03 and a 200-day moving average of $151.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.